step into my classroom: insect studies

In 7th grade life science we just finished up a month-long study on invertebrates. As a fun conclusion we went outside and participated in insect races. In teams of three the students had to coordinate their steps to walk without stepping all over each other ... and I had to avoid getting trampled! Thanks to Katrina for getting these shots from the 4th floor spy windows.

spirit day: crazy

This week we had a "crazy head" day - meaning, crazy hat, crazy hair, crazy earrings... anything above the neck was fair game. The eighth graders enjoyed this one!

step into my classroom: rock cycle lab

In 8th grade earth science we are working our way through the geology unit. We began with a discussion of origins and debated Creation theories, the age of the Earth, and other controversial issues. Last week we completed our study of minerals and now we are learning about the various types of rocks. I like to kick off my rocks unit with a very hands on activity in which the students model the various processes (weathering, erosion, compaction, cementation, melting, cooling) of the rock cycle using crayons. It may sound like a rather elementary lab, but the reality is I would not be able to do this with a classroom full of 8-year-olds!

this was a challenge with 26 students...

We begin with a solid crayon, which represents an igneous rock. Igneous rocks are formed by molten material called magma, which can form below Earth's surface or above (in which case its called lava).

We model the process of weathering and erosion by using a plastic knife to shave pieces off the crayon and trade shavings with another student. This part takes the longest, but it also takes a long time in real life for wind and water to break down large rocks and carry the pieces to another location.

crayon shavings beginning to melt

To represent the formation of a sedimentary rock we squish the crayon shavings together and apply pressure, creating a delicate crayon "cookie". Cementation and compaction creates sedimentary rocks, some of which are rather fragile as they are just a bunch of little pieces glued together.

what do you see?

Now comes the fun part! Using hot water and a little foil boat we partially melt the crayon cookie and the colors begin to swirl together. When a metamorphic rock forms, the heat and pressure will realign the minerals inside, sometimes causing the crystals to form bands, or foliations.

 

metamorphic rock

some groups waited a long time for something to happen

Let the cookie completely melt and turn to liquid wax to complete the cycle. When it cools down, the crayon magma will harden into a yucky brown chunk, just like a lava flow will harden into an igneous rock.

igneous rock

ooOOOoo

My fellow science nerdish friend and teacher Michele was able to assist me during this lab. It was so helpful to have an extra set of eyes and hands in the room to provide extra help for the students, and to also get some pictures while I taught. It's been two years since I've had a regular teacher's aid, so it was really nice to have Michele for the day.

filling in the steps to the rock cycle

more birthday festivities

Saturday I had the opportunity to spend my birthday with a few special people. I have Brandon and Lizzy to thank for the evening as they were the motivators behind me actually acknowledging my birthday. When Lizzy asked me if I had plans for my birthday my reaction was, "Nah. I'll just watch a movie or something." Now that I'm 25, my birthday just isn't that exciting for me anymore. It just means I'm getting older. Big deal. Not to mention many of my birthday traditions simply can't be carried on here in Germany: A Dairy Queen ice cream cake. A house full of loud family members. Spending the day at historic landmarks with the Women's Choir. Drinking a Shamrock Shake. All the little things that made my birthday special are not options anymore when I'm on the other side of the world. But Lizzy persisted and finally I agreed to go out to dinner at Funfshilling, a local German restaurant.

Brandon is creeping on my pizza (white sauce, cheese & bacon)

Lizzy and Brandon, good friends (and Moody alum!)

Jill is ready to devour her quiche

Josh is excited for his first "authentic" German meal

After dinner we went to the Jeffers' house to play games, and they surprised me with a birthday cake. I had already decided that I didn't want a cake because I couldn't have Dairy Queen, so when Lizzy appeared with a cake and candles... well, it caught me off guard. How many 25 year olds get to blow out candles?

each candle represents five years...you do the math.

We played a game called Zug um Zug. There is an American version called Ticket to Ride, maybe you've played it. Last night was my first time ever playing and I took second place! The point of the game is to build train lines across Europe and try to have the longest route. This is definitely one I'll be bringing home this summer!!

all aboard!

To top off the evening, we went up to the Holzen bonfire. In an earlier post I wrote about how the Germans celebrate Fasching and the beginning of Lent. Last night I witnessed a symbolic tradition in which the people cast away all the sins they've committed during Fasching, represented by launching flaming pieces of wood off a hillside. From far off you could see enormous bonfires blazing from the highest point of each village, and when you got up to the top there were many smaller fires going as well. A three-inch wooden square with a hole in the center is wedged onto the end of a 7 or 8 foot long pole. Then the wooden square is lit on fire. To launch your "sin" far away, you must use a combination baseball/golf/cast-a-line movement and hit the ramp with the flaming square at just the right angle. If you do it right, the square will spin through the air and sparks trail behind as it falls into the forest below. How they haven't managed to burn down the entire Black Forest, I don't know!!

this pretty much sums it up

Brandon is ready for takeoff

march newsletter

Click to view/download my March Newsletter hot off the press!

birthday eve

Today (well, yesterday, now that it's past midnight!) at school I celebrated my birthday eve. I began the day by ruining Katrina and Jill's surprise. No one has ever attempted to surprise me in this way before so I didn't really think about it. This morning for whatever reason I had a bit of extra energy and was ready to go shortly after 7:30. I figured I might as well go to school and get a head start on lesson planning for next week. I grabbed breakfast on the way to school (happy birthday to me!) and arrived around 7:45. When I came into the middle school office I found Katrina standing there with balloons in her hand and a bewildered look on her face. "What are you doing here?!" she shouted at me. Shocked and slightly embarassed at the sight of her caught red-handed, I slinked out of the office and hid in my classroom for fifteen or twenty minutes. When I re-emerged, I found this.

oops.

In defiance of my new age (I really don't want to be 25...), I reverted to childhood and brought in treats for my students like I used to do for my classmates when I was in elementary school. I slaved away over cake balls this week and proudly presented each of my students with a sugar-coated bite of Heaven in honor of my birth. They happily accepted.

diabetes in one bite

For lunch the middle school teachers provided a delicious taco salad meal, triple chocolate ice cream and decadent fudge brownies with a crunchy walnut topping. I received a few gifts from staff and students, including a few bars of RitterSport, smelly soap, earrings, and a nerdy science book.

good gifts

girls' night at the greenhouse

This past Monday was a holiday here in Germany so we had a day off from school. Of course, I spent the majority of the day AT school preparing my lessons for the week but I took a break in the evening to host my 8th grade girls for dinner and a movie. Of the 14 in the class, 11 were able to come and we had a great time. I made them lasagna, garlic bread, and salad followed by jumbo M&M cookies with milk for dessert. We watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and enjoyed a bit of fellowship time afterwards.

This is my second year teaching many of these girls and I have loved getting to know them more outside the classroom through Chrysalis, dorm subbing, and things like this. They are overflowing with potential and simply a joy to have in my life. I'm really going to miss them when they move up to high school this fall!!

food for fifteen people doesn't fit in a European fridge very well

delicious feast ready to be devoured

Britta and Emmalee dig in

getting comfy

Jessie and Priscilla: cookie models in the making

cookie time

While we waited for rides to arrive, the girls oohed and aahed over my massive earring collection. I usually get a comment about my earrings from one 8th grade girl a week, and they are amazed by the fact that I pick my outfit to match my earrings, not the other way around. So, they decided to challenge me by picking out a week's worth of earrings to wear. I cringed when I saw they'd picked out the massive Spider-Man ones. I started that day with my hair down to disguise them, but eventually I couldn't stand it and pulled my hair back into a ponytail, proudly displaying the dangling arachnids. The things we do for our kids!!

the lineup

the note they left on my message board

fasching

These last few weeks I have been able to observe the traditional celebrations surrounding the season of Fasching. It officially begins on November 11, but the majority of the festivities take place in the last few weeks preceding Ash Wednesday. Little Kandern celebrates in a big way! From costumes and confetti to banners and parades, there’s no doubt that this is a time of celebration for the locals. At first glance, it seems like a joyous celebration.

the "Kandern" float flanked by bretzel boys

tree people

sitting in the open window was asking for it...

a mere fraction of the confetti that was tossed into my house!

Local Germans will say this is a time of “scaring away” winter and ushering in the spring weather. For many though, this also involves donning macabre masks, adorning their ankles with bells, and flinging flaming wooden blocks off a hillside, all in an attempt to ward off evil spirits. The otherwise straight-laced, conservative locals let loose in the days leading up to Lent. They wear masks to be anonymous in their drunkenness and literally let it all hang out by stringing up their unmentionables in the town square.

seriously??

With my house on the parade route, I had a front-row seat to the huge Fasching parade this past Sunday. I watched from behind my closed window in response to warnings that the parade route is not a very safe place for women to be. A few times I felt chills as dark creatures with grotesque features danced past my window carrying torches (and beer bottles).

note the head on a stick

creepy old woman

bring out your dead...

creeper

a sausage fingered man if I ever saw one!

this woman stood in from of my house and was "bombed" several times!

Please remember us in your prayers during these spiritually dark months. Now that Lent has begun things will calm down but there is still a spirit of oppression here that looms just below the surface and is also affecting many high school students at BFA.